NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A House Republican proposal to boost Tennessee road spending by drawing sales tax collections from the general fund received a chilly reception from Senate leadership Wednesday.
Gov. Bill Haslam wants to tackle a $10 billion backlog in road and bridge projects around the state in large part by raising the tax on gasoline by 7 cents a gallon and diesel by 12 cents per gallon. But several fellow Republicans in the Legislature are wary about voting to hike the fuel taxes even though Haslam's $280 million transportation plan would balance those increases with tax cuts in other areas.
Rep. David Hawk on Wednesday presented an alternative plan to instead dedicate 0.25 percent of the state's total sales taxes collections to transportation projects. He said that move would dedicate $291 million toward state and local road projects.
"I'm suggesting no raising of taxes, nor lowering of taxes," said Hawk, R-Greeneville.
Hawk was joined at his announcement by House Majority Leader Glen Casada, R-Franklin, who said he hopes all transportation funding proposals get a fair hearing.
House Speaker Beth Harwell, a Nashville Republican mulling a gubernatorial bid to succeed term-limited Haslam next year, said she expects all proposals to get vetted.
"I think the good news is that we acknowledge that we need to put more money into roads," she said. "And so that's the first step."
Tennessee currently pays for almost all of its road building and maintenance funding through taxes paid at the pump. Senate Speaker Randy McNally said that's a main reason the state's road program has been able to remain largely debt free through good economic times and bad.
"Put simply, our formula for fiscal stability is proven, established and envied," said McNally, R-Oak Ridge. "Any move away from the formula and the use of dedicated funding opens the door to debt and puts our fiscal stability at risk."
Hawk said he was upbeat about his proposal, despite McNally's comments.
"It's very early in the session to say any idea is dead on arrival," Hawk said.
The governor has said his plan would be paid for by the heaviest users of Tennessee roads, with the bulk of the new revenue collected from trucking companies and others based outside the state.
The Tennessee chapter of Americans for Prosperity planned to reveal its own no-tax road funding plan on Thursday.